Death and Funerals in the Pagan Faith

by Awen Clement

 

We all come from the goddess and to her we shall return,

like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean 

– Traditional pagan chant

 

It is safe to say that Paganism is a minority faith group in the UK, yet current estimates suggest the number of pagans in the UK to be around a million and the number is growing all the time. Paganism is defined as a “polytheistic or pantheistic nature worshipping religion” (Pagan Federation, 2019).  But even within that definition, you could line up ten people who identify as pagan and you would find a wide variety of beliefs and practices.

 

My paganism is a path that honours the earth and all its living beings; humans, animals, birds, trees and plants and more.  I honour all these things as having their own energy, their own sentience and as such part of the sacred nature of the world and all that is in it.  I also honour and venerate my ancestors, all those who have gone before me, those who contributed to making me who I am whether I knew them in my life or not.  I also give honour to a variety of deities including the Goddess as the creative energy of the world.  For me death is a part of the cycle of life, an important rite of passage and a sacred part of life to be honoured.

 

I have been a pagan all my life, having been raised in a pagan family.  I did do a little exploring of other faiths in my teenage years, but ultimately came back to paganism.  About eight years ago I chose to actively step into a role of pagan priest (or priestess) within my community.  For me this means offering pastoral support to those who need it, offering ceremony for the eight annual pagan festivals and performing weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals.  The celebrant tasks of weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals have ultimately become my day job and I work in a civil, secular capacity for those as well as providing them for those of the pagan faith.

 

Pagan funerals are in many ways not that different to those of other faiths or no faith. By nature of the fact that we live in a society that is a mixture of people from all walks of life, often the pagan funerals that I lead end up being a blend of more traditional and typical elements of a funeral service combined with certain pagan aspects, so as not to leave anyone feeling uncomfortable or left out of saying goodbye. Not only that, but due to the wide variety of beliefs within Paganism, it would be unlikely to find two pagan funerals the same either.

 

In some pagan funerals we will make prayers to the Great Mother Goddess, in others we may call upon specific Gods or Goddesses that were important to the person who has died, in yet others we might only make reference to the elements of earth, air, fire and water or to the Earth and nature.  We might even do a blend of all of these things.

 

For some people we might ‘call a circle’ which is a pagan way of creating sacred space wherever we are, we might call upon the ancestors to welcome the dead person or we might ask for a blessing of the elements on the persons journey.  Some pagans believe that they will return to being part of the energy that makes up the universe, some believe they will go to the Summerlands and some believe they will be reincarnated and live another lifetime (and may have lived many before).

 

As a pagan priest I feel that is my job to find out what the person believed and to hold a space that honours them and their beliefs as best I can. Creating ceremony, saying prayers or blessings, singing chants that reflects them and allows their loved ones to say goodbye in the way that feels right.  Really that is how it should be for anyone, regardless of their spiritual beliefs.  We should all be met spiritually where we are at times of death and grief.  

 

Historically paganism hasn’t been well known and sometimes people misunderstand what we believe and as such many pagan folk may keep quiet about their faith.  This can mean that at the end of life we don’t always get to receive the rites and rituals we would wish for.  Fortunately as time moves on awareness is improving and with the support of the Pagan Federation there are now chaplains in hospitals and the prison service. Also funeral directors and those who support people at the end of life are actively engaging with our faith community and doing what they can to meet us spiritually where we are around death and grief.

 

Further information about Paganism can be found at www.paganfed.org
 

Awen Clement is a pagan priest and celebrant based in Birmingham in the West Midlands. She travels widely to perform funeral rites and services, drawing on older traditions to create meaningful modern ceremony that helps people say goodbye. www.awenclement.com